Ukraine opens investigation into alleged surveillance of US ambassador
Ukraine has said it will open a criminal investigation into allegations that the former US ambassador to Ukraine was put under surveillance by people working for President Donald Trump.
In a statement today the Ministry of Internal Affairs said it was aware of materials published by investigators “related to possible illegal surveillance on the former US ambassador to Ukraine”.
Earlier this week, the US House of Representatives released a string of documents, including encrypted Whatsapp messages between associates of Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, allegedly showing that Marie Yovanovitch was under illegal surveillance while in Kiev last year.
Ukraine said that while it did not interfere in US affairs, the documents contained a possible violation of Ukrainian law and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which protects the rights of diplomats on foreign soil.
“Ukraine cannot ignore such illegal activities on the territory of its own state,” the ministry said.
It added that it would investigate whether there had been a breach of the law, or whether the messages were merely “bravado and fake information in the informal conversation between two US citizens”.
Yovanovitch was recalled from her position in May last year after what she has described as a smear campaign against her led by Trump and Giuliani.
The former ambassador has testified in the impeachment inquiry into the President, describing how the pair tried to remove her from office.
In one conversation Robert Hyde, a Republican congressional candidate in Connecticut, said he “couldn’t believe” Trump had not fired Yovanovitch, who he branded a b****. “I’ll get right on that,” he added.
In other messages to businessman Lev Parnas, Hyde described monitoring the ambassador’s movement through a “private security team”.
“They are willing to help if we/you would like a price,” he said. “Guess you can do anything in the Ukraine with money… what I was told.”